Electric chain-link-welding apparatus.



, c. 1L. HOFF. `ELEGTRIG CHAIN LINK WELDING APPARATUS.

AYPLIOATION FILBDVDBO. 5, 1907.

' Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

Y asuma-SHEET 1" y 4 .0. L. HOFF;

ELECTRIC CHAIN LILIKWELDING APPARATUS.

l APPLICATION FILED DBC. 5, 1907.

Patented 1160.14, 1909.

s sung-SHEET 2 c.l L HOFF.' l ELECTRIC CHAIN LINK WELDING APPARATUS.

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GARLION4 L. HOFF, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD CHAIN COM-l PANY, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION F, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC CHAIN-LINKjWELDING APPARATUS.

Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new yis a top plan view of a machine of the art having for its o I mechanism all being Velevation of the same.

and useful Improvement in Electric Chain- Link-)Velding Apparatus; and I do hereby declare thc following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this s ecification, and to the figures and letters of) reference marked thereon. y i

This invention relates to electric welding/ and more especially to that particular branch ject the produc# tion of welded chain or cham links.

The machine of the present invention isv not automatic in its operation, but on the contrary each link or article to be welded is presented by the atten-dant in proper position to be welded, the time during which the current is permitted to flow through the article and the starting and stopping of the controlled or operated by a hand or foot lever or itsequivalent. j

In the accon panying drawings :-Figure 1 embod 7ingr the present nnprovements. Fig. 2 is a ront Fig. 3 is an elevation 'of the clutch, control lever and switch looking in the direction of the arrows on the line l Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail section of the I clutch. ,.lfig. 5 is a detail section of theswitch. Fig. v6 is a ltop plan of-one of the i' jaws with the cover plates removed and the l electrode and' connected parts in section. Fig, -is a longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. 8 is a perspective View showi ing the conformation of the' faces of the dies for giving forni to the weld. Fig. 9 is a view showin the relative positionv -of the lower die an a link when rst presented by the attendant. Figs. 10 and llirare elevations of the cams for operating the dies.

Like characters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts. The machine as illustrated, embodies two forming and Welding jaws A, A, movable y toward and from each other, preferably in a i right line, said jaws being guided on ways g B supported by any suita le framing, such, j for instance, `as the flat top C of a machine l base framing. Suit-able sheet insulation may be introduced between the proximate suri faces of any of the parts which are secured'i Specification of Letters Patent.v Application tiled December 5, 1907. Serial'No.

' have vanti-friction Patented Dec. 14, 1909. 405,245.

together, tween the ways and base, for vpreventmg circuiting through the framing from one jaw as indicated at c, for instancepbe i to the other, although such insulation is not v ordinarily essential to the successful operation of the machine.

\ The jaws are moved toward and from each other by levers I), pivotally supported on the base intermediate their length and c0- operating at their rear ends with face cams E on a shaft F. The levers D preferably rollers d bearing a einst the cams and a spring d serves to ho d the rollers against the cams with the jaws sepas rated.

Recesses a are faces of the jaws the sides of a4 link when the latter is presented tothem by the attendant and as the jaws move toward each other toclose and press the end faces of the link together at the same time end of the link. noted, extend in provided in the proximate a substantially horizontal dlrection `from the 'front edge partially across the proximate faces of the jaws, thus while one end of the'link is grasped by the jaws as they 'come together, the opposite end projects at the front of the jaws in convenlent ositiou to be grasped by the attend-ant.

While' the welding current mi ht reach the link through the jaws themse ves, elecof such shape as to engage y giving proper form to the .Y lthese recesses, it will be` sa.r

trodes mounted in but movable with the.

jaws are trodes are indicated by electrode being held in a G', having a screw G2 tion ofthe end of the electrode may be regulated so as to make rm contact with the preferably provided. The electhe letter G each trou h or carrier sides of thelink adjacent theA end Where the. The trough orl elec.

weld is to be formed. trodecarriers are mounted toslide in the jaws, parallel with the line ofmovement of the jaws and hence theyemayA ,bev conveniently mounted in recesses in the jaws and held therein by cover .plates A, suitable sheet insulation av being placed around the troughs or carriers', circuitconnections from by whic the projecl the transformer being formed by cables G* attached tothe depending lugs (lf3` of the troughs. Said lugs' GrB may conveniently project down through openlngs ga in the aws and ways,`

i 2 and 7. holding tire carriers and their elecrespectively, as shown in trodes in their advanced position, springs G areintroduced at their rear ends within yokes GU. 'W here desired said springs may perform an important function in the welding operation as will be hereinafter pointed l l'alent connection with the rear end of a` ont.

Mounted on the shaft l", preferably be- ,o tween the cams E is a pair of cams H and eo- .1 operating lwith the cams H 1s a pair of die Acarriers Hpivotally mounted on thebase at H2 andprojecting between the jaws at their forward ends. The dies I I are mounted onthefearriers .in position t0 `clanip or surround the weld at the end of the link, suitable transverse recesses z' being formed in the meeting faces of the dies l (see Figs. 8 and 9) to give form to the weld.

In. addition to giving iorn'i to the weld,` the lower'die I 1s designed to serve asal guide in positioning the link to be closed and welded and for this purpose the rear wall t" oi the re'cessis made of greater width than the stront wall and preferably wider `than the space'between the ends of the link when the latter is placed in position, wherebythe ends oisaid rear wall will serve as a stop against which the ends of thelink mayabut as sho'wnvin Fig. 9. The sides of this lower die are also .out away forwardly of therecess t0 form grooves 2 in which the sides of the link adjacent the weld may rest and along which the open ends of the link may slide in reaching theposition forbeing closed by the jaws'and welded.

Motion is imparted to the shaft F from a drive shaft K, the connection' between the two shafts being made by a clutch K under the direct control of theattendant, The de adapted to ride up on an incline or'wedging retractor L on the end of the control lever L. Control lever L is pivoted on the base at l and is adapted to be operated by the hand or footof the attendant to withdraw the clutch pin retractor so as to permit the pin to f engage the rotating part of the clutch. The

end or nose of the control lever preferably rides on the periphery orcam flange K2 tf the cone but may drop or be moved into a recess K3 when the clutch is to be released, the abrupt or radial side K ofthe recess also .forming with the end of the lever stopsfor insuring the arrest ot' the shaft l? vat the proper point,

The switch :ontlolling the primary current to thc transformer is also under the l direct control of the attendant and is g veniently operated through the medium of i the control lever for which purpose the lever l L is provided with an arm or projection m having a pin and slot connection m or equiv `switch lever or arm M pivotally mounted on an insulating base M and carryinv atA its forward end a contact piece M2 of reiractory material, such as carbon. An insulating or insulated'cup M3 is mounted in the base and he held up by a spring M5. A contact piece M similar to the contact piece M2 is mounted in the-carrier. lThe current is established M6 whenthe 'control lever is moved in one direction or the other and as the machine isv designed to heat the metal whenthe shaft E when the' control lever is in position to relea-sethe clutch and hold the shaft stationary. The maehinelis primarily desl ed for link at a time being taken-by(theattendant,

welded and presented to the nt'chine ffor .being itself closed and welded. In preparing to operate the machine, therefore, an adequate supply of links is provid,ed,`e`ach previously welded links. The len'gth ofthe links is quite immaterial aslinks of'any desired'length may be welded with equal faci1- paratus only engages one end. t

link, the lower die drops awa through the action of the/.cam face at O vand the Inachine comes to rest with the cont ol lever in the recess K3. When 'the control l ver moves into the recess K3 the 'priniaryi circuit is' from the electrodes across the end of the link heating notes when the welding temperature control lever-to open Athe switch and release the clutch pin, thereby 'cutting olf the welding current and begin its rotation.

"lhe electrodes being spring follow up any', advance ot' the ends of the ,l of the metal and if the springs are heavy enough may exert all the pressure necessary to etlect the welhng, but in any event itis preferred that the jaws should also be ad-` insure a welding' pressure and to insure a has within it a contact carrier Mt adapted to4 is atI rest the contacts are in engagement;

with the ends to be welded separated frein Acach other a distance great enough to admit to be welded.' The attendantwatching the4 permitting the shaft F to vanced slightly indefinite distance, both to or broken between the contact pieces M.2 and forming chain from separateopen` Y1nks,'one

passed into the end link-ot thoselp'reviously v `ity owing to the fact that.A the Welding aps` p When a link is to be presented'thellower ff die l is held in proper positionv by theicaln-` face at to form a guide inwhich theend of the link may be rested as shownin Fig.v 9 the then advance, grip and y(":losettl'le established and the welding cu rentiiows hasbeen reached and immediately moves the pressed will link toward each other due to the softeningoY and the machine proper dimensioning of the link for which 'purpose the cams E are provided with low elevations (E, Fig. l) over which the 1evers D ride during the initial movement ot' the shaft.- Just before, during or just after the jaws make this final advance movement, the dies I I are closed (by the cam surfaces O2) on or around the weld to give it form, after which the jaws and dies open and the lower die is held in 4position to act as a guide for the next link. AThe shaft continues its movement and the dwell of the jaws and die sections inthe position last described is just long enough to crmit the attendant to remove the weldedp link and insert a new one to bc welded. Should the attendant for any'reason fail to place a new lin'k in position the'lever is held with the nose retracted makes an idle movement with no current switched on at any time. Even should the lever be moved to sto the machine and switchthe current on, no arm is done for no link being present, the circuit is open between the jaws and no current' flows. y

The exact instant' when the dies close vto give form to the weld may varied, as above indicated, within somewhat 'wide limits,without materially affecting the Weld either as to its strength or appearance and any tin left as the result of the action ofthe dies will be in such p'osition as to be rubbed `able toward and from each' a link and ap ly the heatiig sections mova le'towardan from each other i currents,

Yare separated and for moving the section out oli by theA connecting link, in use .or in the tumbling drum, or in any event it projects only within the lateral limits of the chain and is therefore not objectionable in the general run of chain.Y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and ters Patent, is

1. ln an electric chain Welder the combi nation with theweldin jaws-,movable toward .and from each ot er, of a guide bctween the jaws for positioning the link to be grasped by the jaws'and means formoving said guide out of en a ement with the link during the heating cgt e latter.

2. lIn electric chain welding apparatus, the combination with the welding jaws movable toward and from each other, .offdie sections movable toward and tween the welding jaws, for,l forming the weld, and means for holding one of said sections in position to form a guide for the link to be grasped by the jaws while thel latter of engagement with the link during theheating of the latter.

the combination with the welding jaws movother to gras between the jaws in a plane transverse to the movement of the latter, means for moving from each other bef 'l said sections to close the die i the combination with the jaws movable to-,

and means for moving one of said sections independently of the movement of the other, whereby one section forms a guide for positioning a new link and is moved oit of engagement with the link'during the heating ot' the latter.'

4. In an electric chain welding apparatus,-

j ward and from each other to grasp a link .j and apply the ing d1e sections movable toward desire to secure'by Lety i .l i l i i i 3. In an electricchain welding apparatus,

^ ing a shoulder welding current, of weld formand from each other between the jaws, one of said die sections having a projecting ortion forming a gage for pos1tioning a ink when the jaws are. open and a cam for withdrawin said die section when the jaws gras the lin and the welding current is appliedl.3

In an electric chain welding apparatusa die section for giving form to the weld, embodying' a transverse weld forniing groove having one wall of greater width than the other to form stop projections` for the ends of the link.

6. In an electric welding apparatus, the

' combination with the jaws for grasping the link and applying the welding current, a shaft, cams thereon for movingv the jaws and a drive shaft, of a clutch between the shafts, a lever controlling said clutch and an electric switch connected with ysaid lever and operated thereby to break the circuit when the lever is moved to render the clutch erative and to establish the circuit when clutch is disconnected.

7. In an electric welding apparatus the combination .with the jaws for grasping the link and applying the welding current, a shaft, cams thereon formoving the jawsand a drive shaft, of a clutch between the shafts, a stop shoulder on one of the clutch sections,

a4 levercontrolling' the engagement and disengagement of the clutch sections and havder on the clutch ment of the cam shaft, and an electrieswitch connected with and operated by the lever to establish the welding current when' the lever is moved to release the clutch sections and arrest the shaft and to break' the' circuit when the lever is moved to release the clutch sections. v i

8. In an electric welding apparatus,.the combination with awelding'jaw and means for positively advancing the saine to close 'a Vlink, of an electrode support movably mounted in the jaw, an electrode adjustably mounted in the support and a. spring cooperating-with `the support to yieldingly hold the electrode with its cnd projecting bevond the operative face of the jaw.

I 9. An electric chain link welding appara-I current, of .die tus embodying means for supplying heating welding jaws movable toward and from each other -to grasp and close a link between them said jaws having seats for the adapted to engage the -shoul- 'Y Vsection to arrest themovelink formed by recesses iri`thei1' proximate faces, open at yone side throughout their-5 length ancl extending horizontally to thea lfront faces of the jaws whereby the end of the link may project beyond the jaws in position to he grasped hy thc ai'ieiulant'.

10. An electric chain link weldingapparatus embodying Welding jaws having link receiving `reccsees 1n their proximate faces open at one side throughout their length,`

Said recesses extending in a substantially )horizontal direction from the front eriget |partially across said faces-a11 l of piQbcr shape to give forni to theend of the link menne for moving` the jaws toward unil-from each other and means for sul'iplying heatinlgr currents to the jaws. whei'ehy oneI cnil of u link may he graf-pcil. heat'eil. :infl wel lcfl hetween the jaws and the other rml is l-e''i; 

